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synthesize

/ˈsɪnθəsaɪz/·verb

to combine separate parts or ideas into a single new whole
Fig. 1 — Two thin lines feed a round-bottomed flask on its stand — one dripping pale gold, the other a watery blue — and for a moment they only sit there in the glass, layered, still themselves.
01Definition

To synthesize is to bring separate elements together so that they form one new whole — not a heap of the parts, but something with a character none of them had alone. A chemist synthesizes a compound from simpler substances; a writer synthesizes a dozen sources into a single argument. The word comes from Greek syn- ('together') and thesis ('a placing'), the exact opposite of analysis, which takes a whole apart. In academic writing this is the prized skill: to combine what you have read into a position of your own, rather than merely summarize each source in turn.

02In use
  • iA good essay does not just list sources; it synthesizes them into one coherent argument.
  • iiThe lab has learned to synthesize the drug from cheap, widely available ingredients.
  • iiiShe could synthesize a week of scattered notes into a single clear page.
03Collocations
  • synthesize information
  • synthesize sources
  • synthesize data
  • synthesize a compound
  • synthesize ideas into

Family synthesis (noun) · synthetic (adjective) · synthesizer (noun)

04Relations

=combine, integrate, fuse, merge, blend

≠analyze

06TOEFL & IELTS

A high-value academic verb, especially for IELTS and TOEFL Writing. Examiners prize synthesis — combining several sources or ideas into a new argument rather than restating each — so 'synthesize the evidence' signals exactly the skill being marked. Spelling is a live choice: synthesize (US) and synthesise (UK) are equally correct; pick one variety and hold it. The noun is irregular — synthesis, plural syntheses — and the science sense (making a compound from simpler parts) is common in TOEFL reading.

07Asked
What does it mean to synthesize something?
To synthesize is to combine separate parts or ideas into one new whole that has a character none of the parts had alone. In the scene above, two liquids are swirled together and become a third substance, not a layered mixture. In writing it means merging several sources into a single argument of your own; in chemistry, building a compound from simpler materials. The opposite move is analysis — taking a whole apart.
Is it synthesize or synthesise?
Both are correct: synthesize is American spelling, synthesise British. They are the same word with the same meaning and sound, differing only in the -ize / -ise ending that splits dozens of verbs (organize/organise, realize/realise). Both exams accept either variety, so this is not about penalties — but mixing 'synthesize' and 'organise' in one essay looks careless, so pick one and hold it throughout.
What does it mean to synthesize information or sources?
It means organizing several sources by idea rather than by source — grouping what they say around themes, and naming where they agree, where they clash, and where one extends another, so your paragraph makes a point none of the sources made alone. The flask above is the picture: two feeds become one new compound. This theme-first weaving is what a literature review or a Task 2 essay is really testing.
What does synthesize mean in chemistry?
In chemistry it means to make a compound by combining simpler substances through controlled reactions — synthesizing aspirin, ammonia, or a dye rather than extracting it from nature. The sense is the core meaning made literal: parts are brought together to form a new whole with its own properties. The noun is synthesis (as in 'protein synthesis'), and a substance made this way is often called synthetic.
What is the noun form of synthesize?
Synthesis, and it is irregular: the plural is syntheses (SIN-thuh-seez), not 'synthesises'. It names both the process ('the synthesis of the drug') and the result ('a bold synthesis of two theories'). The wider family includes synthetic, meaning made by synthesis rather than natural, and synthesizer, the instrument that builds sounds from simple waveforms — the same idea of assembling a whole from parts.
How do you pronounce synthesize?
SIN-thuh-syze, /ˈsɪnθəsaɪz/, with the stress on the first syllable and a soft th as in thin. The British spelling synthesise sounds identical. The noun synthesis keeps the front stress — SIN-thuh-sis — but its plural syntheses ends in a long -seez, SIN-thuh-seez, which is the form learners most often stumble over.
What is the difference between synthesizing and summarizing?
Summarizing condenses one source into its main points; synthesizing combines several into a new, connected whole. A summary answers 'what does this text say?'; a synthesis answers 'what do these texts, taken together, tell us?' — drawing links the sources never drew themselves. Summaries stack side by side; a synthesis fuses them, which is why it counts as the higher-order academic skill.